The US Army's 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command opened its first autonomous dining facility in South Korea on Nov. 12. A pilot showcase was held Friday at "Market 19," the Camp Walker dining facility in Daegu.
During the event, the facility held a demonstration in celebration of Thanksgiving, serving three special dishes including turkey. Each menu item was priced at around $7.50.
Base officials said that on regular days, Market 19 offers eight to nine options, including Korean dishes such as bibimbap, budae-jjigae and kimchi fried rice.
Once an order is placed via the touchscreen interface in front of the cooking station, a kitchen robot behind a glass partition cooks the food in about five minutes.
“While regular mess halls have fixed meal times, this system gives us a 24/7 feeding capability that supplements, not replaces, our existing dining operations, so soldiers can eat whenever they want. That’s a major advantage,” a USFK official explained.
Chief Warrant Officer River Mitchell, food advisor for the 19th ESC, stressed that the project is not about cutting manpower. “The goal of this initiative is not to replace personnel, but to strengthen our ability to provide food to soldiers anytime, anywhere,” Mitchell said.
Human cooks remain essential in the overall kitchen management, closely supervising whether unmanned robots are cooking properly according to orders, and with developing nutritious menus, the unit said.
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